Journeys
by BenignUser
Summary: Yamato takes Daisuke on a journey to see something special.


Date Started: May 14th, 2009  
Date Finished: May 14th, 2009

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Summary: _Yamato takes Daisuke on a journey to see something special.

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Journeys

"I never really took you for the outdoors type," Daisuke spoke.

Yamato shrugged from his place ahead of him, "The Digital World had a big influence on me." He came to a stop and turned around to face Daisuke. He raised his arm and brought his index finger and thumb to a near circle, "Did you know I was this close to joining the soccer club just to be with Taichi, Sora and Koushiro after our adventure ended?"

Daisuke chuckled, "I heard about Koushiro being part of the club from Taichi. He left it by the time I joined, though. It's a shame; I would've liked to see his skill on the field."

Yamato smiled and resumed his pace, "The way I hear it, Taichi was quite the ball hog. He only ever shared the ball with Sora."

"Taichi-sempai is quite the ladies man." Daisuke beamed proudly.

At that Yamato had to laugh, "Speaking of ladies… Takeru mentioned you have a thing going on for Hikari-chan."

Daisuke froze, his face flushing redder by the second. Yamato came to a stop as well when he heard the footsteps behind him stop.

"It's not like that at all!" Daisuke defended, "Erm, I mean… I'm not saying I wouldn't mind having her as a girlfriend… and it would be great if she like 'liked me' liked me, y'know, but I – um…"

Yamato's laugh echoed around them again, "Takeru was right. You really are terrible at hiding it."

"Yeah, well, what's your story then?" Daisuke walked up to him. His blush long faded and forgotten, "How come you never joined the soccer team?"

"There was only a year left before we all graduated," Yamato answered. His answer was brief, followed with a casual shrug. He motioned for Daisuke to continue moving forwards and after they had begun walking again he explained his response further, "A few classmates of mine at the time were talking about starting up a band in Junior High. I already knew how to read notes, and there was no guarantee I'd be good enough to continue soccer in Junior High, so I began practicing on the guitar."

Daisuke nodded, "So where are we going anyways? And why did I have to leave Chibimon back at the computer lab with Takeru?"

"This isn't for Chibimon," Yamato answered, "And it's not for Takeru, either. It's specifically for you."

"Just for me?" Daisuke asked, "Has Takeru ever seen it?"

"Nope," Yamato said.

"So nobody has seen this place except for you? And now you're showing it to me? That's way cool."

"Well," Yamato began, "That's not exactly true. Jyou was the one who first told me about it. Though I'm pretty sure none of the other Chosen have seen it yet aside from him and Gomamon."

"Ah," Daisuke said. "So how come it's not Jyou-san taking me there instead?"

Yamato turned around, looking almost offended, "Because I'm taking you there. Is something wrong with that?"

Daisuke winced, "No, not at all… I was just wondering."

"Miyako acquired the Digimental of Purity last week, didn't she?" Yamato asked.

"Yeah," Daisuke said, "Shurimon's pretty okay, but he's got nothing on V-mon's forms!"

"You're acting like a little kid."

Daisuke's face fell. He ran up ahead a bit to catch up to Yamato's steps. "Well, gee, thanks."

"You're no longer the only one with two Digimentals. Iori will probably earn Jyou's trait sometime soon."

Daisuke nodded, "Yeah, we figured on that."

There was a shuffling in the nearby trees on the cliff above them. "So, uh, Yamato-san, remind me again why we decided not to bring Chibimon along?"

"Ignore it," Yamato said, "The Kaiser won't be attacking here. His main operations are done on the mainland – the region that overlaps Japan on our world."

"I see," Daisuke blinked. "So where are we now then?"

Yamato turned to grin at him, "Hawaii."

"Then why is it so cold here?" Daisuke frowned. He pulled on his jacket to cling it closer to his chest. Of course he knew the answer. Their elevation had slowly been increasing. The few months he'd spent as a Chosen in the Digital World had tremendously improved his senses in regards to his surroundings. He could feel that they were treading uphill. And the higher they got, the colder it did as well.

Yamato didn't answer. They continued moving, side by side this time. "Nearly every Digimon here is thankful to us for saving their world. They won't attack us."

"So we're safe here? For sure?"

"Well, Ogremon might be lurking around somewhere… but he's just a little puppy."

"I'll take your word for it," Daisuke said.

They entered a clearing at the base of a mountain. A battle had been fought here. By the looks of it, it had occurred rather recently. The outline of Greymon had been embedded into the rock, almost as if he had been shoved against it hard enough to crack. Ash remained of what was once green grass scorched by Birdramon's flames. Thick needles and horn-plated shells that looked remarkably like Togemon's and Ikkakumon's attacks lay in various locations in the clearing.

"The land made a memory of us," Yamato explained.

"Is that one of Angemon's feathers?" Daisuke pointed. He peered closer. It wasn't just one feather; there was almost a full nest of them. "Must have been quite the battle, huh?"

Yamato's eyes narrowed, as if reminiscing about memories that angered him greatly. He finally faced away. His scowl still remained when he spoke, "It's not important. Let's move on – this wasn't what I brought you here to see."

Daisuke nodded. "Sorry about that, I didn't mean to bring up any bad memories."

"Don't worry about it; they aren't my memories."

Daisuke frowned. He didn't quite know what to make of those words. "I really appreciate that you've decided to show me this though. Uh – whatever it ends up being, anyway."

"Are you really excited?" Yamato asked.

"Of course!" Daisuke exclaimed. The frown on his face instantly disappeared, "When you told me about this yesterday, I could barely wait! I'm so eager to find out what you're going to show me."

"That's good," Yamato smiled, "I'm hoping to help you so you don't end up going through the same thing I did."

"And what was that, exactly?" Daisuke found himself asking.

Yamato bit his lip. For a long moment he wouldn't say anything. When Daisuke finally opened his mouth to offer another apology, he was cut off. Yamato spoke, "Let's continue upwards, I'll tell you along the way."

The two resumed their pace upwards. The silence followed them. Whatever had been in the trees had long since vanished a while back. Daisuke's voice broke through the whispers of the wind, "You don't have to say anything that you don't want to."

Yamato remained quiet a moment longer. Just when Daisuke had thought that he would choose to completely ignore the entire conversation, Yamato's voice picked up again, "It was difficult for me. I felt that all the others were improving themselves, and I was always remaining behind and acting like the same little boy that I was the first day I entered the Digital World."

Daisuke frowned, "Are you saying I'm still the same inexperienced kid I was when I picked up the Digimental of Courage?"

Yamato shook his head, "No, I don't think that. The question on my mind now is if you think it."

Daisuke thought for a moment, "Well, no, I don't think I'm still the same guy. Sure, I may not have changed as much as Miyako or Iori and Takeru and Hikari were already the experienced ones, but…"

Yamato cut him off again, "That's exactly the problem then. You feel that you're falling behind."

"Eh, that's nothing to worry about," Daisuke tried to wave it off.

"It will be when the cave consumes you."

Daisuke's brows creased into confusion, "The cave?"

"Forget it," Yamato said. "It's not something you should know right now."

Daisuke shrugged it off, "If you say so."

Yamato shook his head, laughing softly, "Takeru was right about you. You really don't get discouraged easily."

Daisuke huffed down into his chest in response, and then tapped it lightly with a fist. "That's because I take after Taichi-san!"

"I can see that," Yamato chuckled, "Even down to those very same goggles he wore." He raised a hand to his forehead and placed the back of his palm against it, "Oh-how-oh-why were you the one to end up with the trait of Friendship...?"

"Very funny, Yamato-san," Daisuke said, taking a few steps ahead of him while the elder Chosen tried to emphasize the dramatic moment.

Yamato smiled. He pointed up ahead, "The end of our little trek is right around the cliff edge right there. Why don't you head on up there first? I'm right behind you."

Daisuke grinned, and sprinted off upwards. He shouted in glee, "Finally!"

Finally he would see the special place Yamato wanted to show him. His curiosity over it had grown by the second ever since Yamato had mentioned it the previous day. Where would Yamato take him? What would he see there? The same questions filled his thoughts over and over again. His only disappointment was that Chibimon wouldn't be able to share in this discovery, but he was certain to tell his partner all about it when they returned to the human world. Of course it didn't hurt to know that Yamato had decided to only share this secret place with him…

Takeru was sure to be jealous.

He was beginning to tire out from his sprint. Running uphill wasn't quite as easy as running down from one end of the soccer field to the other. He slowed to a tiresome walk, but urged his legs further. It was only a few more steps to reach the edge, then just to turn into it and…

And he saw nothing. He looked around, trying to figure out what it was Yamato wanted him to see. He saw the ocean. He saw clouds and the sun and the sky in the horizon above. He saw sand and snow and trees down below. What was he to make of it?

"Do you see it?" Yamato's voice came from behind.

Daisuke frowned, "You still haven't told me what we're supposed to find here."

"Nothing," Yamato answered, "We're supposed to find nothing."

"Nothing?" Daisuke shouted angrily, "What do you mean nothing?"

Yamato shrugged, "Just as I said, there's nothing here. You can see that for yourself. So how does the end of our journey feel now?"

"It feels terrible!" Daisuke exclaimed.

"So I take it your expectations were crushed?" Yamato offered.

"You could say that," Daisuke muttered, "The battlefield down below would've been a better place to end it. Why bring me all the way up here?"

"Because the battle was just an event in the journey," Yamato said, "This is the end right here."

"But there's nothing here!" Daisuke complained.

"Which is exactly why it's the end," Yamato explained.

Daisuke frowned, "Why did we come here?"

Yamato spoke, "A journey will always come to an end, Daisuke. And the end isn't always satisfying."

"It could've been if you picked a better ending…"

Yamato chuckled, "You looked forward to coming here, didn't you?"

"Well, yeah," Daisuke said, "But that was when I thought there would be something great up here. I was happy you were bringing me to see something special, something that was going to be only for me."

"It was only for you," Yamato confirmed.

Daisuke growled, and repeated. "But there's nothing here!"

"I'm fully aware of that."

Daisuke's face fell, "You're not talking about what I see here, are you?"

Yamato smiled, "That's right; go on."

"The end of the journey is meaningless, isn't it?" Daisuke asked. His eyes widened in realization, "It's the journey itself that matters. You wanted to show me that who we are after we defeat the Kaiser isn't important as long as we eventually get it done."

"Something like that," Yamato said, "When our adventures ended we left behind our partners along with this world." He turned to stare at the horizon. "There's nothing waiting for you at the end of your journey, Daisuke. There is nothing after the end other than the peace of mind that knows the threat is finally over. The journey is what becomes important."

Daisuke frowned, "Will I have to leave Chibimon?"

"I don't know," Yamato answered honestly.

Daisuke shook his head, "I never imagined you would bring me here to tell me all this. I want to thank you, Yamato-san."

Yamato nodded. "You're a Chosen, Daisuke. You've been granted privileges and responsibilities that very few others share. Make sure you make the right choices in this journey, because in the end that's all you'll have left."

Daisuke smiled, "You know, you're a pretty cool guy; maybe even almost as great as Taichi-sempai."

Yamato chuckled, "I'll take that as a compliment. Come on, let's head back."

"Say, Yamato-san," Daisuke started up again as they began walking down.

"Yeah?"

"Would it be alright if I brought Miyako and Iori here someday? I want to show them this, I mean."

Yamato smiled, "I think that would be perfectly fine."

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End Notes:  
- The mountain they were climbing is Infinity Mountain on File Island.  
- During the Etemon saga, File Island was explained to be the Digital World equivalent of Hawaii.  
- This was inspired by Jyou's dub dialogue when he and Gomamon reach the top of Infinity Mountain. He mentions that they saw nothing there, but they learned quite a bit on the way up.


End file.
